This position is located in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Diffa, Niger. The Information Management Officer reports to the Head of Office. OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response effort.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Information Management Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

• Coordination: Establish and maintain an information management network in accordance with IASC guidance to facilitate humanitarian information exchange and the promotion of data and information standards; work with humanitarian partners to ensure appropriateness of information tools and services to the response; engage with authorities counterparts to ensure that information activities are coordinated and consistent with national standards and practices; provide training and expertise on the use and development of information management tools and platforms to OCHA staff and humanitarian partners; advocate for the use of data standards and common platforms, and for the open exchange of information.

• Web Management: Setup and manage content on relevant web platforms, provide overall quality control for the platform and ensure content is current, comprehensive and follows relevant metadata standards; work with external counterparts on related web platforms such as agency and cluster websites and ReliefWeb to facilitate cross-site search and interoperability.

• Data Management: Design, develop and manage databases, spreadsheets and other data tools; understand, document, and ensure the quality of high-value humanitarian data for accuracy, consistency and comparability; consolidate operational information on a regular schedule to support analysis.

• Data Analysis: Organize, design and carry out the evaluation and analysis of location specific datasets through meaningful statistical techniques; participate in the development and revision of data standards (e.g. the Humanitarian Exchange Language) and advise on the application of these standards into local systems and processes; participate in the development, implementation and management of new indicators, together with its accompanying data, to be included in a Common Humanitarian Dataset; understand, document and ensure the quality of high-value humanitarian data for accuracy, consistency and comparability.

• Geographic Information System (GIS) & Mapping: Develop and maintain spatial baseline and operational datasets in accordance with relevant standards and guidance; produce and update high-quality map products and online services; maintain a repository of spatial data and ensure that the data are documented and accessible to all humanitarian partners through local and/or online services.

• Visualization: Produce and update information products such as reports, charts and infographics by turning data into graphical products to convey messages and a storyline; develop advocacy materials including posters, presentations and other visual materials.

• Performs other related duties, as required.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of information management, archival, record keeping and record disposition. Knowledge of electronic data maintenance, including appraisal, conservation and migration management; records preservation and description. Ability to conduct research and provide recommendations on information management trends. Ability to demonstrate conceptual, analytical and evaluative skills and conduct independent research and analysis, identifying and assessing issues, formulating options and making conclusions and recommendations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

• TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

• ACCOUNTABILITY: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in information management, information systems, social science or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in information management, information systems, web management, data management, geographic information systems & mapping, data visualization, or other related area is required.

Experience managing information and teams in disaster response or complex emergencies is desirable.

Relevant experience within the UN System, and OCHA in particular, or other international organization is desirable.

Information management experience in the region is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English and French is required.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by competency-based interview.

On the eve of my attending the ALA-IRRT session Leaning International I wanted to share an e-mail I just received. In my many years of travel, I have seen this story many times. Occasionally I have been able to help, more often not. There are many deserving folks out there who would so appreciate an opportunity. As one of the reasons for this blog is to try and help librarians everywhere achieve their dreams, I asked this writer if she would be willing for me to post her story.

She agreed and also added that what she really dreams about is becoming an archivist. This story has received no editing, she is a polished writer and obvious hard worker. If anyone out there in my readership is able to provide some guidance or advice please post a comment or write to me and I will connect you directly with the writer.

Thanks for reading and being interested, Sarah P.

Hello Sarah,

I am [x], a 23 year old Filipino working as a Marketing Executive in [x], and I dream of becoming a librarian. I know right? It seems funny, why would a Marketing Executive want to be a librarian in the first place? All my friends think I’m joking whenever I tell them this.

Anyway, the reason I’m here now writing to you is that I need some serious advice on how to change career paths. I’m quite desperate and sad actually, because everyone seems to think I will be wasting my life when I have a perfectly good job in a respectable company. But the thing is, I’m not happy with my career at all, and its not because of the salary or career growth or my boss.

Here’s a little backstory of my life:

I graduated with a degree in Communication Arts back in the Philippines, and I got an offer for an international company as a Marketing officer. The offer was good, and my mother eventually persuaded me to accept the job. That time all I thought was that I could help my parents with the household bills and stuff, as most Asian countries have tight family ties and culture. So for two years, I worked there. Then last year, I moved to [x] for an offer as a Marketing Executive in a reputable Sports Retail Company. This time, it was not my mother who persuaded me. I chose to accept the offer because my father has last stage cancer and we need all the money we can get.

But sadly, my father died last November 2015. And now, it’s as if my family responsibilities have lifted a little. Like I’m not that required to give money as often to my family back in the Philippines. So now that everything is quite settled, I thought, why not pursue what I really wanted once and for all?

I am an avid reader, or should I say more like a need, because I literally can’t sleep without reading a chapter or two of some new book I found interesting to read. So now that I am free to pursue a work related to my passion, I’m left with the question, “how am I supposed to work in the library?” I have no experience at all in library related matters. Back in college, I tried applying as a volunteer in our school library, but instead I was transferred to the Marketing Communications Office because they could use my social and communication skills better there.

So now I’m left with this predicament. I want to start pursuing a career as a librarian but I don’t know where to start. Plus my friends aren’t helping that much either.

Please tell me what I can do. And thank you for reading this.

All the best, [x]

And, in response to my questions…

As for what kind of librarian I want, I wanted to be an archivist/ archives librarian. I just love old books and documents and I wanted to be part of preserving it — to be part of preserving history, of books and documents long forgotten and share it to the world is something I know I will be proud of doing.

With regards to the graduate school, I have also given a serious thought about that. I actually think that this will also be my best option since I am technically starting from scratch. Actually, I also kind of wanted to study history. Previously, I have researched on places I can study history, and the best so far was the University of Vienna in Austria, since I have a lot of relatives living there. Plus I think i will be able to handle the expenses since they have low tuition fees, and I can always work there while studying. I was just wondering, will a masters degree in history also make me viable as an archivist?

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the OSCE responsible for the human dimension. The ODIHR is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law. The ODIHR’s assistance projects and other activities are implemented in participating States in accordance with the ODIHR’s mandate.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the general supervision of the Second Deputy Director/CFA, the incumbent performs the following functions:

– Acting as the primary focal point in the ODIHR for records and document management;

– Proposing and implementing office-wide standards and policies for the establishment, maintenance and storage of records, including organization of electronic files, email records, databases and media files as well as appropriate retention periods for records; recommending records for documented destruction and facilitating/overseeing the implementation of these processes;

– Co-ordinating implementation of policies and tools developed by the Central Records and Documents Management Unit in the Secretariat, Vienna. Co-ordinating transfer of relevant historical documents to the Prague Office Archive;

– Providing guidance on records management procedures and correspondence workflow to all ODIHR staff. Training the ODIHR staff on various aspects of information and records management;

– Assisting all office staff with information searches and records retrieval using in-house materials and e-tools such as DocIn and the Correspondence Database;

– Co-ordinating and supporting document distribution at the ODIHR conferences and their post-event processing in cooperation with ODIHR Human Dimension Meetings Unit, Public Affairs Unit and ICT teams as well as OSCE Secretariat;

– Supervising two assistants at the ODIHR office and 2-3 temporary assistants during events. Providing guidance, training, advice, control and evaluation of the duties performed;

– Preparing and maintaining the team work-plan of activities and tasks, evaluating its implementation and reports to the supervisor, preparing relevant reports, when required;

– Preparing the annual budget plan for team;

– Performing other tasks requested by supervisor.

Necessary Qualifications:

– First level university degree in librarianship, archives and records management and/or information management; supplementary education in political science, international relations, history or other related field is desirable;

– A minimum of four years of increasingly responsible professional experience in the field of archiving/records or information management within an international organization;

– Management experience is a distinct advantage;

– Experience in delivering presentations/training;

– Excellent written and oral communication skills in English; knowledge of other working OSCE languages, especially Russian, is an asset;

– Ability to work with people of different nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds;

– Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to be discreet and retain confidentiality;

– Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities.

Remuneration Package:

Monthly remuneration, subject to social security deductions as well as monthly changes of the post adjustment multiplier and exchange rate, is approximately EUR 4,000 (single rate) and approximately EUR 4,300 (dependency rate). OSCEsalaries are exempt from taxation in Poland.

Social security will include participation in the Cigna medical insurance scheme and OSCE Provident Fund maintained by the OSCE. The Organization contributes an amount equivalent to 15% of the employee’s salary to this Fund and the employee contributes 7.5%. Other allowances and benefits are similar to those offered under the United Nations

Common System.

Appointments are normally made at step 1 of the applicable OSCE salary scale.

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE’s online application link found under http://www.osce.org/employment.Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

6.18.16 – Here is news about one of the panelists participating in the upcoming Leaning Internatonal IRRT Program which is part of ALA 2016 . We are creating a list so we can all learn a little about each other and to help connect before, during, and after the program. However this information is for all librarians everywhere so feel free to connect via the blog or write me an e-mail.

Joan Petit is the Communications and Outreach Librarian at Portland State University in Oregon. She coordinates communications for the library and serves as the liaison to Black Studies. Before joining Portland State, she lived in Egypt for two years and worked as Instruction and Reference Librarian at the American University in Cairo, from 2007-2009 (before the Egyptian Revolution). She wrote about her family’s experience in Cairo for the Oregon Library Association Quarterly.

In the upcoming academic year, Joan will be on sabbatical from Portland State (a great privilege after earning tenure last year!). In September, Joan, her family, and their dog will travel to Ethiopia, where she’ll be serving as a Fulbright Scholar in the Information Science department at Jimma University for ten months.

Joan holds MSLS and BA degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as an MA in English from Western Carolina University. And she really can’t believe her good luck and fortune.

Sarah P’s comments: This listing came via e-mail. Must be bilingual: English and Spanish. Deadline to apply is June 24th!

The Transformational Initiative for Graduate Education and Research (TIGER) at
the General Library of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (UPRM) seeks an
enthusiastic and creative Research Services Librarian to join our recently
created Graduate Research and Innovation Center (GRIC).

The Research Services Librarian works to advance the goals and objectives of
Center and leads the creation and successful organization of instructional
activities, collaborates to envision and implement scholarly communication
services and assists faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students
in managing the lifecycle of data resulting from all types of projects. This
initiative is funded by a five year grant awarded by the Promoting
Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans Program (PPOHA), Title
V, Part B, of the U.S. Department of Education.
The Research Services Librarian will build relationships and collaborate with
the GRIC personnel and library liaisons as well as with project students and
staff. This is a Librarian I position that will be renewed annually (based
upon performance evaluation) for the duration of the project with a
progressive institutionalization commitment starting on October 1st, 2016. .

The Mayaguez Campus of the University of Puerto Rico is located in the western
part of the island. Our library provides a broad array of services,
collections and resources for a community of approximately 12,100 students and
supports more than 95 academic programs. An overview of the library and the
university can be obtained through http://www.uprm.edu/library/.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in library or information science (MLS, MIS, MLIS) from an
ALA (American Library Association)-accredited program
• Fully bilingual in English and Spanish
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and ability to work well
with a diverse academic community
• Experience working in reference and instruction in an academic/research
library and strong assessment and user-centered service orientation
• Demonstrated experience working across organizational boundaries and
managing complex stakeholder groups to move projects forward
• Experience with training, scheduling and supervising at various settings
• Ability to work creatively, collaboratively and effectively on teams and on
independent assignments
• Experience with website creation and design in a CMS environment and
accessibility and compliance issues
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience creating and maintaining web-based subject guides and tutorials
• Demonstrated ability to deliver in-person and online reference services
• Experience helping researchers with data management planning and
understanding of trends and issues related to the research lifecycle,
including creation, analysis, preservation, access, and reuse of research data
• Demonstrated a high degree of facility with technologies and systems germane
to the 21st century library, and be well versed in the issues surrounding
scholarly communications and compliance issues (e.g. author identifiers, data
sharing software, repositories, among others)
• Demonstrate awareness of emerging trends, best practices, and applicable
technologies in academic librarianship
• Demonstrated experience with one or more metadata and scripting languages
(e.g. Dublin Core, XSLT, Java, JavaScript, Python, or PHP)
• Academic or professional experience in the sciences or other fields
utilizing quantitative methodologies
• Experience conducting data-driven analysis of user needs or user testing.
• Second master’s degree, doctorate or formal courses leading to a doctorate
degree from an accredited university.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

1. Manages daily operations, coordinates activities, and services related to
the GRIC and contributes to the continuing implementation of TIGER goals and
objectives.
2. Works closely with liaison and teaching librarians to apply emerging
technologies in the design, delivery, and maintenance of high-quality subject
guides, digital collection, learning objects, online tutorials, workshops,
seminars, mobile and social media interfaces and applications.
3. Provide support to faculty and graduate students through the integration
of digital collection, resources, technologies and analytical tools with
traditional resources and by offering user-centered consultation and
specialized services
4. Participates in the implementation, promotion, and assessment of the
institutional repository and e-science initiative related to data storage,
retrieval practices, processes, and data literacy/management.
5. Advises and educates campus community about author’s rights, Creative
Commons licenses, copyrighted materials, open access, publishing trends and
other scholarly communication issues.
6. Develops new services as new needs arise following trends in scholarly
communication e-humanities, and e-science.
7. Provides and develops awareness and knowledge related to digital
scholarship and research lifecycle for librarians and staff.
8. Actively disseminates project outcomes and participates in networking and
professional development activities to keep current with emerging practices,
technologies and trends.
9. Actively promote TIGER or GRIC related activities through social networks
and other platforms as needed.
10. Periodically collects, analyzes, and incorporates relevant statistical
data into progress reports as needed (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Springshare,
among others).
11. Actively collaborates with the TIGER Project Assessment Coordinator and
the Springshare Administrator to create reports and tools to collect data on
user needs.
12. Coordinates the transmission of online workshops through Google Hangouts
Air with the Agricultural Experiment Station Library staff.
13. Collaborates in the creation of grants and external funds proposals.
14. Availability and flexibility to work some weeknights and weekends.

SALARY: $ 45,720.00 yearly+ (12 month year).

BENEFITS: University health insurance, 30 days of annual leave, 18 days of
sick leave.

HOW TO APPLY
Interested candidates should send an application letter (both in Spanish and
English), current curriculum vitae, copy of graduated schools transcripts and
three (3) letters of recommendation, no later than June 24, 2016 to:

Sarah P’s comments: A posting from a new university…a rather low salary for a Directo’rs position but could be a way to become a director in an international college if that is your career goal.Wikipedia articleAbout Ton Duc Thank University

Master’s degree (or PhD) in Library and Information Science is required. At least 2-5 years working experience in this specific field. Desirable abilities include: to work independently; to initiate projects when necessary; to communicate effectively within the organization; to work under pressure; and to develop and adhere to deadlines. Strong written and oral English communication skills are required.

Monthly salary and other types of support

In the first year, monthly salary before tax: $ 2,500. After one year, monthly salary can be increased 0% – 20% depending on the performance evaluation and contributions to the University;

On campus accommodation, personal office, airport pick-up and drop-off, health insurance, yearly airplane ticket (round trip) will be decided depending on their contribution to the University and the performance evaluation.

6.21.16 – Here is news about one of the attendees of the upcoming Leaning International IRRT Program which is part of ALA 2016 . We are creating a list so we can all learn a little about each other and to help connect before, during, and after the program. However this information is for all librarians everywhere so feel free to connect via the blog or write me an e-mail.

Brenda M. Hahn, MLS

Why the IRRT? My work history includes two years working in a library at an IB school in the Middle East. Working with classroom teachers and students, with a global curriculum, inspired me to model this higher-level 21st century life-long learning skill set, and I have never looked back. This experience brought home to me the value of creating a global perspective at the center of academic and enrichment-based life-long learning—no matter what library I am in.

Over the past 13 years, I have worked in schools and public libraries, with a range of patron demographics. My school experiences include IB and Title I programs; and I have implemented grades K-12 curricula. I have been a Family & Youth Librarian in a public library, implementing enrichment-based programming. Over time, I combined the best of my academic and enrichment library work into a transferable skill set that allows me to move between school and public libraries.

In the last year, I took time to complete my graduate degree, splitting my MLS program between school and public libraries. My undergraduate degree in Business has been put to excellent use, as I have opened three libraries (two elementary and one high school), including managing substantial budgets, researching vendors and technology, and holistic planning. I have revamped several library spaces as well. I opened my first library while completing my undergrad—this happened because I had an amazing library mentor and a perceptive administrator, who both saw my skill sets, knew my work ethic, and who trusted me to get the job done.

Exploring global learning in all its forms is what I do, because that’s what my patrons explore and want to be prepared for. I look forward to making new friends at the ALA Conference in Orlando; at IRRT—where I just know there will be fellow librarians who will share new perspectives and ideas, adding another layer to my quest for all things global in libraries.